Random rants from Saugata Chakraborty.

300 or White Power?

2007-03-25T09:54:00.000+05:30

I watched 300 the other day. The special effects were good, and the movie keeps you glued to your seat. However throughout the movie I could not shake off an uneasy feeling.
The movie is supposed to be from a chapter of history. Throughout the movie, the non-Greeks i.e. the Persians/Asians, etc. are shown as psychotic and/or physically malformed beings. Greeks (most of them) on the other hand are the perfect, white Alpha male kind. The use of better war technology, arrows and bombs, by the Persians is projected as cowardice, employed when toe to toe combat failed. I don't how much research the writers, of the movie and the comic, did but this movie does not look to me like it depicts history.

How logical are you?

2006-11-22T14:07:00.000+05:30

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic
You think rationally, clearly, and quickly.
A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

How cancerian are you?

2006-11-22T14:01:00.000+05:30

You are 47% Cancer

How Cancer Are You?

DON - My take

2006-10-21T12:43:00.000+05:30

After all the hype it turned out to be a watchable movie. It's interesting as long as you don't try comparing it with the original one- something that is quite difficult since it's a remake. Some new twists are introduced into the plot to make it less predictable. What are the twists? Go and watch. The only thing that I can tell is that this was one the few movies where I didn't see the people shuffling on their feet five minutes before the credits were shown.
As to the acting
SRK
1> Unlike the original one in which Don and Vijay were two completely different people, it didn't look so here, they were both just the usual SRKs - smooth and glib.
2> Please remain Shahrukh Khan, don't try to be Shahrukh "Chan". The "attempt" to display your martial arts skills in some of the action sequences looked comical.

Boman Irani is good, but has been better in other movies.
Others were just as usual.

All-in-all
Once Watchable.

Happy New Year!

2005-12-31T12:48:00.000+05:30

End of a year is always a time to retrospect, but then, what's begone is gone. Anyway, writing about an entire year, isn't really possible. Here's hoping that 2006 will be a great year for us all.
To all reading this or not reading this:

Happy New Year!

Sourav Ganguly, the typical Cancerian

2005-10-23T12:12:00.000+05:30

First of all, this post does NOT have anything to do with the debate over his position in the Indian Cricket team. My interest in Ganguly, his career and his behaviour stems not from any maniacal interest in the game of Cricket, but rather from the fact that we're both cancerians, and in fact happen to share the same birthday. Here are a few observations that make me say that Ganguly is a typical Cancerian.

1> I'll be back, I'm just biding my time... During his first tour, of Australia, he hardly got a chance to play, and then he was dropped from the team, but still he made it back to the team, and went on to become India's most successful Cricket captain ever. If you think thats not a big deal, count the number of fringe players in Indian Cricket. It becomes more significant considering that during those days there was supposedly an anti-Bengal/East zone undercurrent among the selectors.

2> His emotional nature... whether it's the balcony of Lord's, or a match against Pakistan, or a press conference in Zimbabwe, Ganguly's emotional nature is always at display. It's typical with us Cancerians, either we are completely inside our shells, detached from the world around, or we're an open book, nothing in-between.

3> At the worst when down, but yet, never out... This was amply demonstrated with the wonderful century against west zone, which incidentally follows, what can probably be the trough of his career. A period that includes his 2-balls per duck run-rate, his 3rd rate century against a 3rd rate team and his infamous, tearful (sic) "He wants me out of the team!" comment against Chappell. A Cancerian would probably behave in the worst possible way when he's down, he'll do everything that's not the right one to do, but if that makes you think he's out, well, think again.

4> Never take it lying down... the first Indian Cricket captain to reply to sledging in kind, on field, and off it.

5> Love me, hate me, but you can never ignore me... can you?

6> Opinionated...yes, and if you think I'm wrong, go to hell!

hippopotomonstrosequippedaliophobia contd.

2005-09-22T14:40:00.000+05:30

HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS is the longest word consisting entirely of alternating vowels and consonants.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES is the longest name of a country consisting of alternating vowels and consonants.
HYPoThAlAmICoHYPoPHYSeAlS is the longest word that can be spelled using chemical symbols
COCCIDIOCIDE is the longest word with orizontal symmetry (it reflects itself across a horizontal line)

the world's longest acronym according to the Guinness Book of Words is NIIOMTPLABOPARMBETZHELBETRABSBOMONIMONKONOTDTEKHSTROMONT (56 letters, 54 in Cyrillic). Found in the Concise Dictionary of Soviet Terminology, it means: The laboratory for shuttering, reinforcement, concrete and ferroconcrete operations for composite-monolithic and monolithic constructions of the Department of the Technology of Building-assembly operations of the Scientific Research Institute of the Organization for building mechanization and technical aid of the Academy of Building and Architecture of the USSR.

Interesting fact
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica (15th ed.) PAKISTAN is an acronym for the five Northern units of India - Punjab, North-West Frontier (Afghan) Province, Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan, and was coined in 1933 by Choudhary Rahmat Ali (1895-1951). However, according to the World Book Encyclopedia (1976), Pakistan means "land of the pure" in Urdu.

Did you know
"angry" and "hungry" are the only two words in common use ending in -gry.

Hippopotomonstrosequippedaliophobic

2005-09-19T11:02:00.000+05:30

No, I'm not blubbering, the above word simply means "fearful of unusually lengthy words"!

PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCO: (also spelled PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOKONIOSIS) = a lung disease caused by breathing in particles of siliceous volcanic dust.
This is the longest word in any English dictionary. However, it was coined by Everett Smith, the President of The National Puzzlers' League, in 1935 purely for the purpose of inventing a new "longest word". The Oxford English Dictionary described the word as factitious. Nevertheless it also appears in the Webster's, Random House, and Chambers dictionaries.

FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION (29 letters; an estimation of something as worthless) is the longest word in the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED2 shows a use of this word in a 1741 letter by William Shenstone (1714-1763)

HEPATICOCHOLANGIOCHOLECYSTENTEROSTOMIES = a surgical creation of a connection between the gall bladder and a hepatic duct and between the intestine and the gall bladder.
This is the longest word in Gould's Medical Dictionary.

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS = song title from the Walt Disney movie Mary Poppins.
It is in the Oxford English Dictionary.

TRINITROPHENYLMETHYLNITRAMINE (29 letters; a type of explosive) is the longest chemical term in W3.

ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM (28 letters) may be the best-known long word. The word means "the belief which opposes removing the tie between church and state."

PARADIMETHYLAMINOBENZALDEHYDE (29 letters) is the name of a chemical substance and is found on several Internet web pages [Richard Eisenberger].

HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS (27 letters) is the longest word used by Shakespeare. It appears in Love's Labor's Lost, Act V, Scene I, and is spoken by Costard:

O, they have lived long on the alms-basket of words.
I marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word;
for thou art not so long by the head as
honorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art easier
swallowed than a flap-dragon.

The next-longest words used by Shakespeare are ANTHROPOPHAGINIAN, INDISTINGUISHABLE, and UNDISTINGUISHABLE (all with 17 letters) and INCOMPREHENSIBLE and NORTHAMPTONSHIRE (both with 16 letters) [Nelson H. F. Beebe].

ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHICALLY and ETHYLENEDIAMINETETRAACETATE (27 letters) are the longest words without spaces or hyphens in MWCD10.

ETHYLENEDIAMINETETRAACETATE, HYDROXYDESOXYCORTICOSTERONE, and OCTAMETHYLPYROPHOSPHORAMIDE (all with 27 letters) are tied for second-longest chemical term in W3.

METHYLCHLOROISOTHIAZOLINONE (27 letters) is found in Pert Plus shampoo, according to John Carroll.

ANTITRANSUBSTANTIATIONALIST (27 letters; one who doubts that consecrated bread and wine actually change into the body and blood of Christ).

ETHYLENEDIAMINETETRAACETIC ACID (26 letters in the first word) is in MWCD10. The substance is abbreviated EDTA.

ANHYDROHYDROXYPROGESTERONE (26 letters; a synthetic crystalline female sex hormone) is the third-longest chemical term in W3.

CYSTOURETEROPYELONEPHRITIS (26 letters; a combined inflammation of the urinary bladder, ureters, and kidneys) is a long medical term mentioned by Paul Hellweg in The Insomniac's Dictionary.

DISPROPORTIONABLENESS and INCOMPREHENSIBILITIES (21 letters) are described by the 1992 Guinness Book of World Records as "the longest words in common use."

The LEVATOR LABII SUPERIORIS ALAEQUE NASI is a thin triangular muscle located on the side of the nose [Charles Turner].

The longest place names

(85) TAUMATAWHAKATANGIHANGAKOAUAUOTAMATEATUR
IPUKAK-APIKIMAUNGAHORONUKUPOKAIWHENUAKITANATAHU
A hill in New Zealand. This Maori name was in general use, but is now generally abbreviated to Taumata. The name means: the summit of the hill, where Tamatea, who is known as the land eater, slid down, climbed up and swallowed mountains, played on his nose flute to his loved one.

(66) GORSAFAWDDACHAIDRAIGODANHEDDOGLEDDOLONPENRHYNAREU
RDRAETHCEREDIGION
A town in Wales. The name means: the Mawddach station and its dragon teeth at the Northern Penrhyn Road on the golden beach of Cardigan bay.

(58) LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH
A town in North Wales. The name roughly translates as: St. Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of Llantysilio of the red cave. It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

(41) CHARGOGAGOGMANCHARGOGAGOGCHARBUNAGUNGAMOG
Another name for Lake Webster in Massachusetts. Probably the longest name in the United States.

The longest domain names:
http://iamtheproudownerofthelongestlongestlongestdomainnameinthisworld.com/

http://www.thelongestdomainnameintheworldandthensomeandthensomemoreandmore.com/

http://3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592.com/: the 3 is a subdomain

http://www.abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijk.com/: a free email service

http://www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch.com/: named after a Welsh Village, claims to be the world's longest domain name (of course, by my definition, it is at best tied) and in Guinness records as the world'd longest domain name (turns out the title is for world's longest domainnamed after a real place)

halloffameofinternationalincredibleuniquerecordsoutof36thousand.com and guinnessrishiwelcomesplanetgullanentertainmentthomasandfriends.com, used by the Indian Record Breakers' Hall of Fame or wonderdogfarleyfearlesslyfetchesworldrecordforlongestdomainname.com, registered by a record breaker from the USA.

The longest host name ever used was
www.tax.taxadvice.taxation.irs.tax-services.taxrepresentation.taxpayhelp.internalrevenueservice.
audit.taxes.co

Whats your Jedi Name?

2005-09-16T16:22:00.000+05:30

WTF

2005-09-16T14:07:00.000+05:30

Take The quiz yourself

IIT-JEE pattern change

2005-09-14T10:17:00.000+05:30

My opinion on the changes is that, all these modifications to the pattern are good, except the 60% criteria. Simply because, if you are putting a 60% criteria, why not go all the way and make admissions on the basis of 12th marks. Besides, I'm sure I can find a few people with less than 60% in boards who went through JEE.

PS If I had a penny for all my thoughts, I'll be a millionaire.

Statcounter

2005-09-08T18:52:00.000+05:30

Well, this ai'nt an ad, but I used and really liked this tool, for keeping a track of the number of visitors, and some info about them. Just go to statcounter.com and create an account and add a project for your webpage, and add the script to your page.

We don't need no education...

2005-09-08T09:35:00.000+05:30

So, the first among equals have taken yet another step out of their senses and decided to make the 10th boards optional. While it's absolutely true that this will reduce stress on the students, but still it's ridiculous.
1> A little bit of competition, won't kill anyone, it'll make them better.
2> A centralized exam will show not only the standard of the students participating, but also gives a peek into the quality of education imparted in the respective school(s).
3> How many schools in the country have impartial and fair interal examinations, definitely not most of the government supported ones, where more stress is on tuitions when deciding the number of marks to be awarded to the students.
4> Why don't the powers that be try to improve quality of education at the government sponsored schools, instead of trying to do away with any method of judging that quality?

There might be other pros and cons, but I'll say that the pros far outweigh the cons of having a Xth board exam.

Discovery of the century...

2005-09-06T10:40:00.000+05:30

So, why did I put this cartoon on my blog? Sometimes life gives us small little opportunities, it only requires a lot of digging to turn it into the big break!

Nerdiness

2005-08-29T13:33:00.000+05:30

Tweed-la-diddle-dee

2005-08-10T20:53:00.000+05:30

Tweed-la-diddle-dee, Tweed-la-doodle-doo,
What do you do, when you got nothing to do?

Make lame rhymes and put them on your blog. Not that anyone would notice, half the world (the connected world obviously, not the entire human race you idiot!) won't read it coz they got much more important things to do, and the other half, ie the one to which you so obviously belong, won't give a damn, coz either they're as mindless zombies doing the routine blog surfing, reading anything written, and writing some mindless stupid comment. Or better, deciding not to, and in the process sparing their brethren of going through meaningles content.

You know what I'm feeling like at the moment? Do you really think you know? Well FYI, you know nothing! But I do know something! I know exactly what that tin-can, the robot in The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, felt. A brain the size of a planet, (well not really), and writing stupid blogs to pass the time. But then talking of THGTTG, can you think of some other work of fiction that's so obviously devoid of any content, so obviously and utterly lame, and still loved by millions, (myself included). Yeah-yeah, despite a brain the size of a planet, (well not really), I still love that so obviously and utterly lame,( and still loved by millions), book- The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy (read it now if you have'nt done so yet, you mindless zombie).

{By any chance did your puny brain register any sense of deja-vu (and for those of you who in addition to being idiots, slept through their english lessons, deja-vu, in laymans terms, is a feeling that "this-has-happened-before-but-I-don't-remember-where)}.

(I told you to read THGTTG, not this blog you idiot!)

Aaaargh, what am I doing, with a brain the size of a planet, (well not really) teaching english to a mindless zombie like you, who probably hasn't done anything other than : move-mouse-over-link-click- move-mouse-over-link-click- move-mouse-over-link-click, and an occasional, -type-in-url-enter, again continued by, move-mouse-over-link-click-move-mouse-over-link-click-move-mouse-over-link-click. Goddamit, do something real, read that book, or any other)

(I know you have'nt done that yet, what else could one expect from someone as...twit-brained as yourself.)
What the hell, some one said in some lesson in school that objects exposed to the elements {read inside the inner bracket if you're not just idiot, but an utter idiot (elements=air, water, etc)} corrode, well, I say put it in a vacuum, and it'll corrode faster, and since you've reached this far, you're so obviously an utter idiot, I must explain to you, that you're not to take me literally, I'm talking about the brain, that lump of grey-cells, which in your case, if taken out, would probably not be sufficient to make a layer of one-atom thickness on the nail of your little finger, so if you literally expose it to the elements, you would never know if I was right, you won't live long enough.

Now if you're done with your zombie-ing, press the little cross at the top-right corner, or better, the button on your cabinet that has power, spelled P-O-W-E-R, written on it.
FYI- The first one with the mouse pointer, and the second one with your finger, or whatever, real object.

PS: When I say THGTTG, I include SLATFATF, TRATEOTU and LUAE.

It's here!

2005-07-30T12:31:00.000+05:30

The day I lay my hands on my first paycheque, well, not exactly, coz I don't actually get a cheque, but then what other term could I use. Waiting for a month, counting the days, and now it's here!
It's party time folks!

2005-07-18T18:59:00.000+05:30

B Tech ends!

2005-05-12T19:34:00.000+05:30

Actually I already wrote a few words, and can't think of more...
http://fourthyrlife.blogspot.com

Life is like a bottle of vodka

2005-04-30T14:25:00.000+05:30

Yes, life is like a bottle of vodka, when it's full you think, maybe worry how you're going get the maximum out of it, when it's flowing, you start moving where it takes you, and by the time it's empty, you don't care about anything in the world, anymore.

Don't you think it's true?

The end of BTech

2005-04-29T19:28:00.000+05:30

Today it was the last theory paper of BTech, although there are still practicals and BTP presentation left, but it feels like the BTech life has come to an end. At this juncture it's not unusual for people to look back and think of what was right, what was wrong, what I could have done better, and many such questions, and also anticipation for the future. Glossing over the past is not something I do, ever. Thinking ahead is also something I'm not adept at, so what remains is this moment. What am I thinking at this specific moment? Well I started writing this stuff, and I lost myself. I was thinking about life without a lot of things, life without the afternoon siesta, life without sleeping late at night and waking up after ten am, life without worrying about where from to get money for the next smoke, life without...well a hell lot of things that make life fun, well maybe some will remain and some new ones will come up.
My mind's getting a bit philosophical after the last line above, so maybe I should stop before any philosophical crap starts flowing from my figertips, otherwise it'll be difficult to end. Maybe some other day I'll write down the philosophy of my life, and let the world read it, but today is not that day, I've got to perpare for my BTP, lab and seminar, so goodbye for now dear blog, and anyone who's reading this.Have a nice day.
I'll be back, soon.

2005-04-20T13:01:00.000+05:30

"Hello World!"
What better way for a geek to start his blog than those two words (also because I don't know where to start). Well if you're not a geek, then FYI, this is the line that every programmer is supposed to print with his first program. (Feminists please forgive me, but I can't use "his/her" every time I refer to second or third person!)
Also, please note, that what's written here is in a random order, just as they come to my mind.

Now, since I'm writing this blog to tell everyone about myself, where should I start...ummm first the physical facts of my life. I was born in the summer of 1983, did my schooling from Delhi
Public School, Dhanbad, somehow, through grace of God, or through some freaky luck or any other reason I managed to scrape through IIT-JEE in 2001, and landed up at CSE-ITBHU, where I still am.

Now, about me, well lets say I'm a simple-minded, complex creature, if you know what I mean! I don't think that there is any absolute good or any absolute evil in the world, rather everything, everyone is made of both. This is a simple fact, not much when you listen to it, but tell me how
many people can think that their loved ones can commit evil, or that their enemies can do anyone any good?

My love for computers is only exceeded by my love for fiction, or any other book that's not a
part of my course. I don't know if it's true, but my mom says that my love for books started when I could'nt even turn over, she says that whenver I cried she'd hand me a book, any book, and I'll fall silent. Computers, I first saw one at school, it was a 386 or 486, no hard-disk, boot from floppy, and it was love at first sight, like a whole new world opening up in front of my eyes.
The love continues and is still strong, even today I spend most of my waking time with my
computer.

Of the many books I've read the two that've influenced me the most are Atlas Shrugged and
Fountainhead. Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism sans the atheism part, is something that
appeals to the very core of my heart, or should I say mind. I use the phrase "sans atheism", as I
do believe in God, I have my reasons, though I may not be able to convince others to it, yes I am a believer and I pray to God every day, but I also believe that religion is futile. I say so,
because every day I see the hatred people have for others, I read news of what fanatics are doing in the name of God, and I feel sad, surely God did not want us to fight over the proper manner of worshipping Him.

What do I love besides books and silicon machines? Well I love pulling legs, not literally
though! This can be better said by people who've been at the receiving end of my sarcasms.

I am very cool creature, the reason is that I believe in Destiny, Anything that has to happern
will happen, and in God, Whatever happens is for the ultimate good, so there's nothing left to
worry about in life. So I don't get worked up every time soething comes up, exams or whatever.
I'm usually lazy, but if I accept a job, I usually do it and do it well.

Another random rant: http://fourthyrlife.blogspot.com
Catch me on Yahoo! messenger: cool_dude_spidy

There are many things that I've left out, many things yet to be said, but right now my random
rants must stop, maybe I'll follow up with more posts.